


Rightful Queens

by hnak



Category: Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ant-Woman AU, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-03
Updated: 2013-09-25
Packaged: 2017-12-25 12:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/953240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hnak/pseuds/hnak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate universe where Hank Pym dies instead of his first wife, Maria Trovaya and Maria fights crime alongside Janet van Dyne with helpful ants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vernon van Dying to Meet You

She's packing the lab up. Carefully wrapping beakers and test tubes in old newspapers. Placing them delicately in the boxes. It's over. It's all over. She's just as much a scientist as he was, but the grant that funded this was in his name. Everything that was part of his personal collection goes to her. Everything else, she has to leave behind. Uprooted from her home again.

 _God, give me strength_.

There's a knock on the door. She mutters in angry Magyar under her breath, thinking it's the college professors come to harass her into packing faster. "Door is unlocked."

The door swings open revealing a shorter man in a tweed suit with a mustache that looked like a poisonous caterpillar wiggling on his upper lip. She doesn't know who he is, but he extends his hand, giving her a friendly smile. "You must be Doctor Pym. It's an honor."

She hesitantly shakes his hand, swallowing at the mention of the name.

The man continues, oblivious to her discomfort. "I have to say, I was expecting a man, but this is even better. I'd love to see more women in science. Put those wiles to good work, eh? Lord knows I wish my daughter was more interested, rather than--"

She holds up her hand, shakes her head. "I am not Doctor Pym. I apologize for the confusion, but--"

"Oh dear me, it's my mistake entirely. Are you his assistant, then? Where, uh, where is he…?" The man trails off, finally taking notice of the boxes and thinking that something must be wrong. "This is his laboratory, yes?"

" _Was_ his laboratory." She ducks her head, focuses on packing again. "I'm afraid he won't be found here anymore."

The man frowns. "Did he leave a forwarding address?"

"No. He's… gone."

"Gone?"

"Dead."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

 _Sorry to hear that._ It's a strange phrase, she thinks. Sorry to hear it, not sorry that it happened. She thanks him for the bottled condolence anyway.

He grasps for something to say. "Were you his assistant?"

"No, his wife. Maria Trovaya."

"Oh, dear. I'm very sorry indeed." He touches her shoulder, trying to be comforting. "My name is Vernon van Dyne. I needed to speak to him about a project, trying to reach another dimension, but I suppose I should leave you be." He pats his pockets, seeming uncomfortable because how do you comfort a stranger? then produces a business card. "Do call if you need anything."

Maria takes the card without saying anything, only nodding slowly.

Vernon's brow furrows in sympathy. "Good day, Mrs. Pym." He hesitates, pats her shoulder again, then turns to go.

Maria pockets the card and goes back to work. Alternate dimensions… She's a little intrigued. Henry had a few theories, scribbled on paper, left abandoned in his office. But she has more important things to do than traipsing about the realm of theoretical physics. Tonight, she has her own tests to run.


	2. Help

_Come on, come on_. Sitting on the steps of her apartment building, Maria adjusts the antennae on the helmet for the millionth time that night, trying to get something other than garbled static. She chews her lip as she works, fiddling with knobs and buttons and even exposing the wires, but all she can hear is just… noise. She begins to worry that the helmet _won't_ work. That all the time she's spent trying to communicate with insects has been pointless. Which means she'll have to find a different way to protect herself when she uses Henry's pet project--Pym particles--to shrink down. Fighting insects in their own world strikes her as a very bad idea.

Then, a voice pierces the night air. "Help! Avalanche! Help!" Maria's eyes widen in alarm, wondering what in God's name was going on. Why was someone crying out about an avalanche in the middle of New York City? She runs towards the sound of the voice, but sees nothing but an overturned potted plant.

The voice is still calling for help and Maria spins in a circle, trying to find the source before realizing that _it's coming from the helmet._ She puts it on and it's clunky and needs refinement, but she can see and she can hear and she can _understand_. She pushes a button on her belt, shrinking down to better find the insect in distress.

And there she is: an ant trapped under the crumbling soil from the plant.

Without questioning it further, Maria shoves the dirt, now more like coffee beans to her, out of the way and frees the bug.

The ant waves her antennae at Maria inquisitively. "You're not my colony."

"No. My name is Maria Trovaya. Are you hurt?"

The ant takes a moment to inspect herself, rocking back on her rear pairs of legs and curling her abdomen towards her head. She brushes off grit with her front legs, then sits back up. "No. My exoskeleton is strong." Pride touches the ant's voice. "I am strong and fierce. Fit to be queen."

Maria giggles. "I bet you are. What's your name?"

"Name? Maria Trovaya is name?"

"What do you call yourself?"

"An Ant." The simple truth of the statement strikes something in Maria. She can't feel sorry for the ant because she doesn't have a name. The ant still has an identity; she understands who she is and where she fits. It all rings in the phrase. _I am an Ant and I am pleased with who I am_.

Still, for the purposes of making communication as easy as possible, she decides to think of a distinctive enough way to call the ant. "Well," Maria says, switching to her native tongue, "Then I shall call you 'ant' as well."

"Alright," says the newly named Hangya. "If you're not part of my colony, why did you help me?"

"Because you needed it. I'm a friend to all who need my help." Gently, Maria places her hand on Hangya's head. "Especially those too little to help themselves."

"Friend," Hangya repeats. "The humans in this city… They need help too, right? I can smell them, sometimes. They're sad, but I don't know why. You smell sad, too."

Maria ignores the comment about her own emotional state. "Yes. I'm going to help them, too. Would you like to join me?"

"Help you save the other humans?"

Maria nods.

"I'd like that," Hangya says. "Helping makes me happy."

Maria grins and pats Hangya's head gently. "We shall be a great team. We can make the world a better place together."

Hangya makes a light chirping noise, sounding pleased. She waves her antennae over Maria again.

It's curious, Maria thinks, how emotive the ant manages to be. When she'd first theorized the possibility of communicating with insects, she'd expected them to be all instinct, maybe vague recognitions of their own colonies. But an actual conversation? Comprehending emotions like sorrow and happiness and even altruism? It's more incredible than anything she'd ever imagined. _Oh, Henry… If only you could be here to see this._

Hangya chirps at Maria. "You smell sad again, friend."

Maria shakes her head. "It will pass." It has to. "May I ride on your back? We can find someone to help. New York City at night… there's always someone who needs it."

"You may. I can fly very fast, you know."

"Of course." Hesitantly at first, Maria climbs onto Hangya's back. The ant's little hairs are course beneath her, digging into her thighs. Not painfully, but the new sensation is a little strange. Maria situates herself, pulse racing with anticipation. The movement of Hangya's wings sends a tremor through her whole body. A second later, they're in the air, wind rushing around them. Maria clings to Hangya for all she's worth, taking comfort in the strength she can feel in her friends back. They rise higher, higher, higher and though it's only about three meters up, Maria feels like it's a very long way down.

She gasps, anticipation turning to excitement, then takes a moment to catch her breath and gasping turns to laughter. Unbridled laughter, thrilled by the new discovery, the new friend, and the new life that is ahead of her. Her bliss is cut short when she hears another cry for help. And this time, she's certain the voice belongs to a human.

Maria and Hangya turn towards the sound to find a man pinning a young woman against the wall in an alley. He presses his hand over her mouth, cutting off her shouts. "Shut up. Who's gonna help you?"

Maria leans down and whispers, "Hangya. Would you like to see what it's like to be big?"

"Yes, indeed."

Permission acquired, Maria presses another button on her belt, Pym particles activating in a cloud around both her and the ant, and they grow, landing gracefully with a loud _whomp_ just outside the alley way. "Leave her alone." Maria speaks evenly, though her heart is pounding in her ears and if she hadn't been clinging to Hangya, her hands would be shaking. Fortunately, she _looks_ a lot more intimidating than she _feels_. A woman, in striking red and blue, appearing out of nowhere on the back of an ant the size of a horse…

Even the young lady she's meant to be saving screams.

The man tries to run, but there's nowhere to go, so he just backs into a corner and looks ready for a fight. Maria turns to the other woman. "Don't be afraid. I am on your side. Can you make it home from here?"

The woman's eyes are fixed on Hangya, but she nods. "I'm just a block from here…"

Hangya and Maria move aside for her. "Go on, then. Be safe," Maria says.

Sidestepping the giant ant, the woman swallows and looks up at Maria. "Thank you," she breathes before turning to run back home.

Maria watches her go, then turns to the man again. "Now as for you…"

"Please don't let that thing eat me!"

"Eat you?" Maria frowns.

_He looks tasty._ Hangya's voice echoes inside the helmet.

"She won't eat you." Maria switches a dial on her helmet so it functions as a radio to contact the police to pick up this man. "But if I ever find you've hurt anyone or tried to hurt anyone ever again, I shall throw you to her mercy. And believe me when I say that I _will_ know. Every fly on every wall serves me. Do not cross me." With that, she shrinks herself and Hangya down again, seeming to his eyes to simply vanish, then waits for the squad car to pick him up.

For much of the night, Maria and Hangya continue in such a manner: finding muggers and thugs and delivering them to the police. Then the two return to Maria's home to rest, both thinking that tonight has been very successful indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's curious, yes, ants do chirp. It's usual inaudible to humans due to the tremendous size difference.


	3. The Ant-Woman

The morning's newspaper comes with a front page picture of Maria astride Hangya like a warrior from some strange alien world, sillohetted by a streetlamp, taller than the car beside her. Above it, the headline reads "WHO IS THE ANT-WOMAN". Maria smiles lightly at it over her morning tea. The article debates back and forth with itself if she's even real ("some sources attribute the appearance of the Ant-Woman to a series of hallucinations and an edited photo") and whether vigilante justice is really justice ("on the other hand, is telling people to turn themselves in _really_ vigilanteism?"), reaching no real conclusion on either topic. Fortunately for Maria, she's not particularly looking for validation from a newspaper. Her validation comes from the people who got home safely because of her who otherwise would have been raped, mugged, or even killed. She'll worry about public opinion later when she has the hang of this superhero thing.

As Maria and Hangya enjoy their toast and eggs, there's a knock on the door. Maria tilts her head curiously. _Who in God's name would be calling at this hour?_

She pulls her dressing gown around herself more tightly and peeks through the window. There's a young Chinese woman--about seven years younger than Maria herself--in a less-than conservative red dress with a long black coat, unbuttoned, over it. Maria opens the door. "Can I help you?"

"Is this where Henry Pym lives?" The young woman peers past Maria, into the apartment.

_Oh, this again…_ "No." She starts to close the door.

The girl blocks it. "Wait. I need to find him. His lab's been cleared out and I really need his help. My father just died and I think he's the only person who can tell me why."

Maria opens the door wider. "Your father?"

"Yeah. Vernon van Dyne, _maybe_ you've heard of him. Famous scientist, one of the richest men in New York? It's on the second page of the newspaper, after that Ant-Woman stuff."

She freezes.

Miss van Dyne seems to be torn between great rage and deep sorrow.

"You are Dr. van Dyne's daughter? You--"

"--don't look a thing like him, I _know_. Can we stick to the point? I need Dr. Pym and I need him now."

"Dr. Pym is dead," Maria says. "But I can help you. Please, please, come in."

"Oh… Guess there's a lot of that going around." She hesitantly steps inside, eying the boxes that Maria took from the lab the previous day. "I'm Jan, by the way. Janet van Dyne." She extends her hand.

Maria takes it and gives it a small shake. "Maria Trovaya. Pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstances." She offers Janet a small smile. "Now, you said you needed Henry's help because he was meant to help on your father's project? You think Vernon's death is connected to the alternate dimension he was trying to reach?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but--"

Maria holds up her hand to quiet Janet. "I believe you. Henry had a theory as well. It's possible your father found something dangerous and it got through. Wait here."

"Where are you going?"

"Well, you can't very well expect me to fight an alien in my dressing gown."

"Hold up." Jan catches Maria's hand as she turns to go. "How are _you_ going to do that? No offense, but you don't look like the fighting type."

"Of course I don't. No one looks like the fighting sort when they're just in a dressing gown." She flashes Jan a reassuring smile. "I'm much more intimidating when I am riding a giant ant."

Jan's eyes widen in shock. "…you're the Ant-Woman."

"Yes. Now can I get dressed?"

"Uh, yeah, right," Jan says, "but I'm coming with you. To fight the alien, I mean. Not to your bedroom."

Maria presses her lips together and she tenderly brushes a hand through Jan's hair. "Janet, I know how painful the loss of a father is. But battle is no place for children."

"I'm not a child!" Janet's expression hardens. "I'm nineteen-years-old and I don't need you to fight for me."

There's something familiar in Janet's declaration. An echo of Maria herself. In truth, Janet's older than she was when she started fighting Soviets… _Come, come, Maria, who are you to tell her she can't do this?_ "Very well. But you're not going in that dress; it's not practical."


	4. I'm Not a Child

_Hungary, 1953_

"I'm not a child." Maria stomped her foot for emphasis. She was about half the height of her father, thirteen years old, and spoiling for a fight. "I can help you. Let me!"

"Maria…" Janos looked at his daughter sadly. "Please. You do not want to fight this fight. Stay home. Stay out of trouble. Live a good life."

"I can't do that while my people suffer! As long as there's injustice, people _must_ fight it. You told me that before you went to war. Mother knew it. Grandfather knew it. And I know it." Her tone was even, hard for someone her age. She stared up at Janos, fists clenched at her sides.

Janos put a hand on Maria's shoulder. "There is fire in you, my child," he said. "That is good. But it has to be tempered before that fire is useful. Remember that I've also taught you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. There may yet be a time when you must fight in war, but do not let war harden your heart. The people we fight are just that--people. They have families and feelings, the same as you and me."

Maria looked skeptical, but gave her father a nod. Part of her knew he was right, but it mostly just registered as an attempt to pacify her.

Janoes rested a hand on her cheek, smiling tenderly. "I will bring you to the meeting, but--" he held up a warning finger "--you are only to observe for the time being, do you understand?"

Maria nodded quickly, expression going from skeptical to eager; that was what she wanted to do anyway. "I understand."

* * *

And so she did. For three years, Maria sat at the revolutionaries' and listened and learned. She studied the ways of war, both open and covert, and of governments and politics. She added these to her regular studies, but in school she was a loner, separating herself from the other students. She knew she was preparing for something greater than they were.

In her spare time, she'd go out into the fields and into the garden to relax. She liked to watch the small creatures--insects, spiders--and how they lived. Maria would sketch them as they went through cycles. She'd observe how they hunt, bred, and live, appreciating them for their own unique beauty. She'd watch spiders build traps and wait for their prey. She'd watch dragonflies aggressively pursue unlucky victims. Wasps were absolutely vicious, no matter what the size of their opponents (Maria had a lot of first-hand experience with the ferocity). And then there were ants, doing everything together as one unit, all acting for the good of the group.

Maria not only learned _about_ these creatures; she learned _from_ them as well, though it would be several years before she'd understand just _how_ much she'd learned. For three years, Maria honed her mind and body until her father agreed she was ready.

She could actively participate in the revolutionaries cause...


	5. The Wasp

Maria leads Janet into Henry's old workroom. Rather, it _would_ have been his work room had he and Maria had a chance to actually live together. As far as home laboratories go, it's certainly not much. In fact, it's nothing more than an empty room with boxes stacked haphazardly about. There's hardly any order to it and many of the boxes seemed to be in great danger of falling. Along with those, there are a few insect cages set on top, all empty for the time being.

Janet peers at the boxes reading the labels--"chem", "bio", "phys"--like subjects at school. "What is all this stuff?"

"Tools." Despite the disorder, Maria seems to know exactly what she's looking for and where to find it. With surprising strength, she moves boxes aside until she has access to a trunk. It's black and worn from travel, but still sturdy. On top it's labelled in bold, red letters: "PROJECT VESPIDAE".

Jan blinks, looking to Maria for more explanations.

"The project that introduced my father and Henry." Maria pulls out a key and unlocks the trunk. "More my father's project than anyone else's, really, but…" She opens it up and pulls out more, smaller strong boxes. "It was intended to be put to work fighting the Soviets in our homeland, but we never got the chance to implement it. However, I think it may be of use to us now."

Jan furrows her brow. "Weapons?"

Maria nods.

There's a pause. For a second, Maria fears she's scared Janet off. She's young, after all, and rich. Not used to fighting and a war torn country like Maria is.

"Alright," Janet says, steeling her expression. "Give 'em to me."

There's a fire in Janet that Maria knows very well. She knows it will need to be tempered by experience, but for now, that can wait. She starts assembling a machine from the parts within the box. "Four people worked on this together. Project Vespidae was to be a more covert counterpart to America's supersoldier project, which created Captain America. Henry's main contribution was Pym particles--subatomic particles that allow us to grow and shrink. My father worked more on this side, with a friend from Britain. 'Wings and stings', he called them." She works as she talks, the machine beginning to look like a shower with a harness dangling out of it. "This will implant wings on your back, allowing you to fly when you've shrunken down."

"…this has all been tested, right?"

"You'll be the second person to undergo this--Janos was first and it was successful."

There's a distance in Maria's voice whenever she speaks of her father or Henry, but Janet doesn't comment. They have a more pressing task at hand than grieving over recently lost fathers. All that's important to Jan in that moment is that the wings work and she had to avenge her father, to prevent other people from meeting the same fate.

Maria finishes assembling the machine. Henry or her father would be better to run it, but they'd left instructions, so that would have to do. Janet's all too eager to get into the machine, ready to equip herself for the fight that's to come, but Maria remembers her father crying out when he underwent the procedure. "This might hurt," she warns before starting the machine up.

Janet grits her teeth. It hurts, like needle shooting ice into her nerves. But she doesn't make a sound. She smiles when it's over, assuring Maria (and herself) that everything's fine. "Barely a pinprick~"

Maria returns the smile, partially relieved that it didn't malfunction and hurt Janet. "You're an extraordinary young woman, Miss van Dyne."

"I know." Her grin is pure, radiant, confidence.

A few minutes later, Maria outfits Janet with a suit to fly in--black jump suit with red protective padding around her chest--and cuffs which harness energy from her body into blasts of energy. 'Stingers', as they'd been dubbed. The final touch is a belt, like Maria's, to allow Jan to shrink and grow as needed.

" _Now_ ," Maria says, "you are ready."


End file.
